“Aren’t you sorry we left my car at home?” She runs to catch up with me, and I roll my eyes.
“Baby, I promise you a ride on my bike is better than any fuck in the back seat of a Skoda.”
“Even if that fuck is me?” She presses her body against mine, pulling my head down for a fire-filled kiss, and I can’t help but grab her ass and pull her firmly against me.
“You’re more than just a fuck, Curls.” I look into her eyes, willing her to see how serious I am. “You know that, right?”
“But, you’d still rather fuck me on your bike?” She gives me a cheeky grin, pulling me toward the edge of the clearing.
“It’s my new favorite fantasy,” I admit, and she laughs, leaning on my bike and looking at me with hungry eyes.
“I guess we’ll take my boring corporate rental for a test drive another day. In the meantime?” She beckons me to her. I oblige and swing my leg over my bike, pulling her to me and guiding her to straddle my lap.
I kiss her again, soft and languid, waiting until I feel a moan escape her lips to deepen the kiss and let my hand travel up under her shirt until I reach her bra.
“I bet you’re even more beautiful than I remember.” I run my palms over her soft mounds, knowing full well that underneath her clothes is the most breathtaking woman I have ever laid eyes on, and Phoebe arches into my touch, then slides a hand under her shirt and unhooks her bra, inviting me to explore her bare chest.
“I bet you have tons of tattoos now,” she retorts, moaning when I roll her nipples between my fingers.
“Does it turn you on?” I push her t-shirt up to reveal two perfect perky tits with erect nipples just begging to be teased.
“I want to lick every inch of ink on your skin,” she whispers into my ear, and I groan, bending down to catch a taut bud between my lips, swirling my tongue around it as I suck, causing Phoebe to draw a sharp breath.
“Still sensitive there, I see.” I chuckle, my hand smoothing over her flat stomach until I reach the button of her jeans, popping it open and lowering the zipper before sliding my hands up her body again to cup her face, my gaze never leaving hers.
Phoebe pulls all the garments off her top half, doubling my heart rate as I drink her in. The same beautiful Phoebe, her ascent to womanhood showing in the curve of her waist and hips.
“So, like good wine?”
I lean down and cover her mouth with mine, pulling her more firmly against my body.
“You’re perfect,” I answer, and Phoebe smiles.
“You used to say that all the time back then as well.” Her finger is tracing my jaw, and I grab it between my teeth before sucking on it.
“I actually mean it now.”
“Andy!” She swats my shoulder with a laugh, and I grin at her.
“You know you set the bar high.” I stroke her thighs with my palms, my cock painfully straining inside my jeans. “No one ever got close, and here you are, blowing your own record sky high with how even more beautiful you’ve become.”
“You always were good with words.” Phoebe cups my cheek and presses her full lips to mine, soft and tender, and a shudder courses through me from the force of the emotions it awakens.
“Why am I the only one naked?” She starts pulling at my shirt, and I stop her by leaning back.
“Promise not to freak out,” I plead.
Phoebe leans away from me with a baffled look. Taking a bracing breath, I start to pull off my shirt, stopping with a cringe at the horrified gasp that leaves Phoebe’s mouth when the hem reaches my chest.
“Are those stab wounds?” Her voice is muffled by her hand covering her mouth, her pitch abnormally high as she gazes wide-eyed at the crisscross of scars on the right side of my abdomen, over the three lowest ribs.
“Yeah. Not a fun experience.” Understatement.
“Experience?” Her hand drops with a thud. “You say that as if you were in Disneyland. Andy, you got stabbed!”
“And I came out the other end just fine, which is more than others can say,” I state in a voice harsher than I intended. Almost immediately, all the heat evaporates, and I let my shirt drop back to cover my most fresh wounds. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“No, I’m sorry.” Phoebe sits up and smooths her hands over my chest. “I didn’t mean to upset you. You’ll tell me someday how you got them?”
“Someday.” I pick up her bra, sliding it back over her arms, my palms lingering on her shoulders a few seconds longer than necessary, drawing comfort from the contact. But the moment’s ruined. “I think we should head back.”
“Okay.” She pulls on her shirt in silence, grabbing onto me when I try to place her back on the ground.
“It’s okay.” I give her a reassuring smile.
“It’s not.” She pulls herself closer and rests her head against my chest. “How many times was I close to losing you forever?”
“You never stood a chance of getting rid of me.” I envelop her in a tight embrace.
“I spent five years wondering if you were still alive.” She nuzzles deeper into my chest. “If you would have married me like you were supposed to, at least I would have known.”
“I didn’t because I wanted to spare you that life,” I whisper with a cracked voice.
She looks up at me with so much sadness my heart breaks in a million pieces. “I still worried about you, waited for you, only I never knew if you’d come back for me.”
“I’m so sorry, Phoebe. I never wanted that for you. I’m so sorry.” My throat constricts with every word I choke out, and Phoebe lifts her head, gazing at me with sad eyes.
“Take me home.”
The entire ride back is made in strained silence, with Phoebe gripping me so tightly her knuckles are white and me not knowing what to do to make it better.
“You want me to come in?” I ask when we pull up at the cabin, hope evident in my voice.
“No,” she replies with a shake of her head, and a tear escapes as she dismounts the bike, rolling down her cheek and falling to the ground. “I think I want to go in alone.”
“Okay.” Something inside me breaks at her words, but I brave through it for her, for a chance to have her love me again the way she used to. “What was that back in the grove, then?”
“It hasn’t been easy,” she whispers. “Trying to figure out which parts of my feelings for you are real and which are just memories playing with me.”
“And?”
“It’s a lot to process, Andy.” She looks away, and I can see the tears stinging at her eyes. “All I can think about right now are those nights when I was too worried about you to sleep.”
“I’m sorry.” I shift in my seat and pull her close to me, enveloping her in my arms as hot tears spill over my chest. “I’m so, so sorry, Phoebe.”
“So am I.” Her head lifts off my chest, and she places a hand on my cheek. My eyes flutter shut, and I hold her close. “I really missed you, Andy.”
“I missed you, Phoebe, more than I can put into words.” She throws her arms around my neck, and we stay there, wrapped in an embrace.
For those few precious moments, I allow myself to believe we can come out the other side of this mess stronger.